TWO MPs and a peer have called for a meeting with Home Secretary David Blunkett to demand a public inquiry into the savage unsolved murder of a private investigator from Wales.

Daniel Morgan, who was killed 17 years ago this week, was found with an axe embedded in his head in a pub car park in Sydenham, London, on March 10, 1987. His killer remains at large despite a number of police investigations into the tragedy.

Mr Morgan, 37, originally from Llanfrechfa, Monmouthshire, was the co-owner of a firm called Southern Investigations, which employed off-duty police officers. There have been claims made in the past that he was about to expose links between officers and a professional criminal when he was killed.

His brother, Alistair, 56, who lives in London, said his solicitor had assembled a submission for the legal grounds for a public inquiry which would be sent to Mr Blunkett. But if the Home Secretary refused the submission the family could go to the high court and call for a judicial review.

He said, "We are hopeful that my mother's MP, Roger Williams, her former MP Lord Livsey and my MP Chris Smith will be able to persuade Mr Blunkett that a public inquiry is the only way forward.

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Mr Morgan's mother, Isobel Hulsmann, 76, from Hay-on-Wye, added, "This is a terrible time of year for us because it's when Daniel was killed. But we're not going to go away. I just hope we get a public inquiry."

Brecon and Radnorshire MP Roger Williams said he was satisfied the case justified a public inquiry.

"A submission has been put together by the Morgans' solicitor Raju Bhatt which will go to the Home Secretary," he explained.

"We've also written to Mr Blunkett to request a meeting to put our weight behind the calls for a public inquiry."

The latest case concerning the death was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in September last year because there was insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution.

The inquiry into the murder was reopened in June 2002. A reconstruction was shown on the BBC's Crimewatch and a reward of £50,000 for information leading to a conviction was offered.